Steely Dan

In the years before they formed Steely Dan, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen made numerous demonstration recordings of their songs under the auspices of their manager, Kenny Vance. Vance began leasing these recordings for commercial release in 1983 with the album Becker and Fagen the Early Years, and since then they have been repackaged over and over in various combinations, appearing on such albums as Berry Town, Sun Mountain, Old Regime, Stone Piano, Roaring of the Lamb, Forward into the Past: Becker & Fagan -- The Early Years, Roots of Steely Dan, and Early Times. Dressed to Kill's The Steely Dan Collection, an exact duplicate of its earlier release, Android Warehouse, contains 28 tracks on two CDs, which makes it second only to Catalyst: The Original Recordings 1968-1971 by Walter Becker & Donald Fagen as the most complete version of the material. (Catalyst has one more track, an alternate take of "Sun Mountain.") Steely Dan fans who have never heard any of these tracks may be pleasantly surprised. None of Becker and Fagen's vaunted studio perfectionism is present, but the work comes only a short time before the polished Steely Dan commercial recordings, and it is identifiably by the same performers. In fact, several of these songs later turned up on Steely Dan albums: "Any World That I'm Welcome To," "Barrytown," "Brooklyn," "Caves of Altamira," "Charlie Freak," and "Parker's Band." "Come Back Baby," meanwhile, is an early version of "Boston Rag." Most of the tracks feature only Fagen on lead vocals and piano, and Becker on bass and harmony vocals, though some are more developed arrangements presumably including Demian, the band with whom they were playing at the time. As long as buyers aren't expecting the usual Steely Dan sonics, they may enjoy a glimpse into the band's beginnings. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide